Oil burning furnace



y 1939- B. P. THORNTON 2,165,162

OIL sgnume FURNACE Original Filed March :51, 1937' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR g- 1'. BERVTRAND P. THORNTON BY W ATTORNEY y 1939- B. P. THORNTON 2,165,162

OIL BURNING FURNACE 7 Original Filed March 31, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BERTRAND P THORNTON ATTORNEY Patented July 19 39 OIL BURNING FURNACE Bertrand P. Thornton, Lawrence, Kana, assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to General Heating Equipment Company, Kansas City, Mo., a common-law trust Application March 31, 1937, Serial No. 134,075 Renewed November 28, 1938 1 Claims.

My invention relates to oil burning furnaces, and'more particularly to an oil burning furnace that is provided with oil burning means that forms a gas, or vapor, of the oil and mixes this 5 with air to produce a combustible gaseous mixture.

It is a purpose of -my invention to provide an oil burning apparatus of high efliciency that is adapted for the burning of a heavy grade of oil, and which makes maximum use of the fuel value in the heavy oil that is utilized therein. In order to accomplish this purpose, oil and air are fed to a rotatable member from above the same to the upper surface thereof, said rotatable member comprising part of the oil burning apparatus and serving to thoroughly mix the air and oil and turn the oil into a .gasifled condition, so that an intimate mixture of air and gasified oil will take place within said rotatable means to go cause a highly combustible mixture to be discharged therefrom at the periphery thereof where the combustion takes place.

More particularly my apparatus comprises a rotatable member having blades on the upper face thereof, and means for supplying air and oil to the top side of said rotatable member substantially at the axis of rotation thereof, said blades being so shaped as to create a whirl of said oil and air to thoroughly mix the same, .the oil during such mixing being heated by the rotatable member to turn the same intoa gas.

It is an important purpose of my invention to provide an apparatus of theabove mentioned character, that is provided with means on the axial center thereof-for diverting the oil supplied to the same and the air in an outward direction toward the periphery of said rotatable member, and to provide a rotatable mounting for said rotatable member, located entirely below the combustion chamber of my improved oil burning furnace.

The rotation of the rotatable member is, preferably, obtained by means of the air entering through the air supply means, theamount of air supplied being automatically directly proportioned to the amount of oil'supplied, inasmuch as the greater the heat within' the combustion chamber the more rapidlythe air will'be sup-' 50 plied through the draft means to the 'rotatable member, thus rotating the same at a more rapid rate. However, if desired, and particularly for starting purposes additional means may be provided to supply a draft of air to the rotatable 55 member to cause initial rotation thereof, particularly when the burner is cold at the beginning of the operation of the furnace. I.

It is an important purpose of my invention to provide, in. an oil burning furnace of the above mentioned character, means for transferring a 5 maximum amount of heat from the combustion of the fuel to air that is utilized for heating a room, or other space, or spaces, said means comprising tubular members extending at an inclination to the vertical in an annular series, and

.through said furnace, on a somewhat enlarged scale, showing the oil burning apparatus in 25 section.

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

. Fig. 4 is,a fragmentary top plan view of the oil burner.

Fig. '5 is a fragmentary view, partly in top plan and partly in section, taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in vertical section,

of a modified form of oil burning apparatus as 35 7 applied to an ordinary furnace fire box,.or fire D i Referring in detail to the drawings, inFigs. 1 to 5, inclusive, is shown the preferred form of my invention, in which the oil burning apparatus comprises a housing havinga vertical side wall H), which is, preferably, cylindrical and provided with the legs II at the lower end thereof for mounting the apparatus on any suitable'support l2, A transverse wall i3 is provided that. is spaced a upwardly from the bottom edge of the cylindrical side wall portion l0 and is, preferably, integrally united therewith in any suitable manner, as by welding. A concavo-convex'downwardly curved top wall it is provided, extending from the top' 5 edge of the cylindrical wall It and integrally united therewith. A downwardly depending wall portion I5 is provided at the center of the top wall, which is provided with a transverse bottom wall it having a central opening H, in which the 66 I "air supply conduit I8 is, preferably, welded so as vide an air chamber 26 that is open to the air space 2i within the outer casing, or housing, 22 of the hot'air furnace. The transverse wall, or pa'rtition, I3, separating the chamber 26 from the fire box portion l9 has mounted thereon a concavoconvex base plate 23, which has its highest point located at the center thereof and is provided with a peripheral lip, or upstanding rim portion, 24, the lowest point on the upper surface of said, base plate 23 being adjacent the flange '24, and a drain pipe 25 extending therefrom downwardly through the air space 20 and outwardly through the outer casing 22 of the furnace. Suitable refractory material, such as fire clay, 26, is placed between the flange 24 and the side wall III of the fire box, the refractorymaterial, or ring, having the top surface 21 thereof sloping downwardly toward the flange 24, so that if any oil accumulates thereon it will flow toward the flange 24 and eventually "to the drain 25.

My improved heating apparatus further comprises an upper drum, or chamber, 28, which is provided with a substantially cylindrical vertical side wall portion 29, a substantially flat bottom 36, and a c'oncavo-convex top wall 3I that is of a dome-like character and is provided with a central flanged opening 32 that leads to a flue pipe 33.

An annular series of openings 34 is provided in the top wall I4 of the fire box, and a similar annular series of openings 35 is provided in thebottom wall 30 of the upper drum-like combustion chamber 28. Tubular members 36 are mounted in the openings 34 and 35 and extend between said fire box I9 and combustion chamber 28, providing communication between the same. In assembling the device, the tubular members are inserted in the openings 34 and 35 and the upper drum-like member 28 is turned, about the vertical axis thereof, relative to the lower main body portion of the oil burning apparatus, as far as possible, so as to throw the tubular members '36 out of vertical position into aninclined position, so that the same lie substantially on the surfaces of spirals after this has been done. After this twist of the upper member relative to the lower member, with the pipes in position, has taken place, the tubular members 36 are fixed in position in the openings 34 and 35 in any suitable manner,

, as'by welding, so as to provide for their retention opening, in which is mounted a bearing 31 for a vertical shaft 38, said bearing 31 being secured in the member I8 in any desiredmanner, as by means of threads 39. An annular inwardly ex-- tending rib 46 is provided on the bearing mem-.

ber 31, with which the shaft 88 contacts. The lower end of the shaft 38 is, preferably, beveled of! to a point, as indicated at, andseats in a conical bearing 42, provided in the bearing mem; conduit I8 will pass through the opening 88 into 1| ber 43, which mounted on a plate-like member 44 secured in spaced position below the partition I3 by means of the bolts, or other securing members, 45. Means is provided for lubricating this bearing, comprising the lubricating oil supply pipe 46, extending outwardly through the wall III to a point externally of the furnace where an oil cup 41 may be provided, so that the bearing I may be periodically lubricated. Secured in fixed position-on the upper end of the shaft 38 isa rotor surface-of said hub member downwardly toward the side portion of said hub. v

The rotor further comprises a bottom wall 53 that is of a concave-convex character conforms ing substantially to the shape of the base plate 23 and lies closely adjacent thereto so as to have just suflicient clearance therefrom for free rotation of the rotor. integrally united with the hub portion 48 and extending upwardly therefrom, and also integrally united with the bottom wall 53 of said rotor, are the mixing and propeller blades 54. The

shape of said blades is shown in Fig. 5, the same 7 .shape of the top face of'the bottom wa1l 53 on said rotor, while the top edges 51 thereof are substantially straight except for the beveled, or

. inclined, portions 58 extending downwardly to the outer edge of the conical top face of the hub 48.

Mounted on the blades 54 is a top plate, or top closure member, 59, having a central opening 60 of a diameter such that the edge of the opening is co-incidental with the point at which the downwardly beveled top edges 59 of the blades 54 begin. Said top plate 59 is secured in position in the rotor by means of pairs of ears 6| punched out of the top plate and bent down into close engagement with the opposite faces of the blades 54.- If desired, upwardly extending blades, or ears, 62 may also be provided on said top plate 59 for a purpose to be later described.

The air supply conduit I8 extends from externally of the outer casing 220i the furnace inwardly to above the fire box I9 in spaced: relation thereto, and is provided with a sweeping curve 63 therein, so that said conduit extends vertically from a point above the downward extension I5 of the top wall I4 through said extension and through the bottomwall I6 thereof terminatin close to the top plate 59, the end 64 of said conduit I8 having just sufiicient clearance from the top plate 59 so that there will be no possibility of accidental engagement of the parts to interfere. with the rotation of the rotor,. It will be noted that the passage in the member-I8 is sub stantially the same size as the opening 80 so that substantially all the air passing through the fan 14, driven by any suitable means, such the rotor. As the air passes into the rotor, it is deflected outwardly and downwardly .by the conical top face 5! of the hub 48 into the portion of the rotor provided with the blades 54, engaging said blades to cause rotation of said rotor, and is thrown outwardly toward the outer edge of the annular rotor member at the periphery of the same.

Oil is supplied through the oil conduit, or pipe, 65, the outlet end 66 of which is just a little above the end 64 of the air conduit l8, said oil conduit 65 being located centrally of the air conduit l8 so that the oil is supplied to substantially the center 52 of the conical top wall 5| of the hub 48, and thus spread out and evenly distributed by said conical end wall of the hub between the propeller blades 54, as it is caught in the whirl of air created by said blades 54. As the oil conduit 85 and the air conduit 63 both extend through the combustion chamber and air heating spaceof the furnace, the air and oil will be heated to V such a temperature that when the oil passes into the rotor, or bladed member, it is turned into a gas and thoroughly mixed with the air, which has been heated to a point close to the combustion temperature. Thus no material lowering of the temperature of the flame is caused by the en-- trance of cold air, and cold oil, into the same, as would otherwise be the case. The supply of oil is controlled by any suitable valve 61 and the proper mixture of air and oil is automatically controlled by means of the setting of the valve 61, inasmuch as the greater the heat created in the fire box, the greater the draft through the pipes 36 and the flue pipe 33, and the greater the entrance of air through the draft supply, or air supply, conduit l8. This causes the rotation of the rotor to be inproportion to the draft created, and also thus in proportion to the oil supplied, the speed of rotation of the rotor and the amount of air supplied being substantially directly proportional to the quantity of oil supplied to the oil burning apparatus.

In order to prevent any flow of oil to the oil burning apparatus accidentally when the same is not in operation, or in case the same is not operating properly to consume the oil, the safety valve 68 is provided in the oil line 55, which is closed by the oil receiving memberdfi that is of a bucket-like form, and receives the oil from the overflow conduit 25, a suitable rod-like member 10 connecting the valve 68' with said bucket 69 to close the valve 68 and prevent flow of oil to the oil burning apparatus, when a predetermined weight of oil collects in said bucket.

Under certain circumstances, it may be desirable to provide additional means for propelling the rotor, although this is ordinarily not necessary. Such means may, however, be desirable when the burner is first started, so as to obtain 5 a thorough mixture of the oil and air by means of the propelling and mixing blades 54' before the heat in the fire box has reached such a point that the natural draft through the air supply pipe l8 will be sumcient to'rotate said rotor at the de- 4 sired speed. Such means may comprise an air in the sidewall l0, within which the tubular supply conduit 1 I extending through an opening member II is secured in fluid-tight relation, said tubular member being flattened at i2 to provide a reduced nozzle-like openingl3 in the end thereof to supply a blast of air to the ears 62 on the top, or cover member, 59 to rotate said rotor. Preferably, artificial draft means for the air supply pipe H is provided, comprising any suitable the motor 15, mounted in any suitable manner, as by means of a bracket 15 on the outer wall, 22, of thefurnace.

While the oil burning apparatus described above is preferred, and the highest efliciency thereof is obtained by utilizing the fire box and combustion chamber. with the inclined tubes. 36 connecting the same, as described above, my improved oil burning apparatus may also beutilizedin an ordinary hot air furnace, such an arrangement being shown in Fig. 6, the only change in the structure from that shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, being that a plurality of upstanding postlike members 11 are provided on the base plate 23 that support a plate 84, that is provided with a pair of annular ribs 85 and 86, on the upper face thereof, said plate-like member being secured in fixed position by any suitable means, such as the nuts 18 and I9, engaging suitable threaded portions on the members TI.

Refractory blocks, or plate-like members, 80 are provided, which have their lower ends mounted between the ribs 85 and 86 andwhich are arranged in an outwardly and upwardly inclined position, the upper reduced ends 8| thereof engaging the side wall 82 of the ordinary fire box, or fire pot, of the ordinary hot air furnace, said upper ends being reduced, to provide spaces 83 between the same, through which the flame and products of combustion will pass|to the upper part of the fire box, said refractory members throwing the flame outwardly toward the walls of the fire box in a manner similar to that commonly used in ring gas burners in hot. air furnaces.

Of course, in the ordinary hot air furnace, suitable supporti'ng means must be provided for the plate-like member l3, such as that shown, and

ing 22 and the vertical wall i0, defining the passage 9!. A suitable cold air inlet 96 is, of course, provided, as in the ordinary hot air furnace, and

hot air conduits are connected with the annular flanges 95, surrounding the openings 94 provided in the top wall of the furnace.

What I claim is: 1. An oil burning apparatus of the character described, comprising a rotatably mounted member having an annular body portion, curved blades on the upper surface of said annular body portion, a cover over said blades having a central opening, an air conduit extending downwardly into proximity to said opening and discharging air into the same, an oil supply pipe in said air conduit extending into proximity to said central opening, and deflector means mounted centrally of-said annular body portion directing said oil and air outwardly toward said blades- 2. An oil burning apparatus of the character described, comprising arotatably mounted member and means for rotating the same, said rotatably mounted member having an annular body portion having an upper surface sloping downwardly from the center thereof toward the'rim thereof, blades on the upper surface of said annular bodyportion,"a cover over said blades spaced from said upper surface and having a pipe in said air conduit extending into proximity to said central opening and discharging oil into the same.

3. An oil burning apparatus of the character described, comprising a base plate'sloping downwardly from the center toward the periphery thereof, a rotatably mounted member mounted over said base plate and having an annular body portion, curved blades on the upper surface of said annular body portion, a cover over said blades having a central opening, an air conduit extending downardly into proximity to said opening and discharging air into the same, and an oil supply pipe in said air conduit extending into proximity to said central opening. a

4. An oil burning apparatus of the character described, comprising a base plate sloping downwardly from thecenter toward the periphery thereof, a rotatably mounted member mounted over said base plate and having an annular body portion having an .upper surface sloping downwardly from the center thereof toward the rim thereof, curved blades on the upper surface of said annular body portion, a cover over said blades having a central opening, an air conduit extending downardly into proximity to said opening and v discharging air into the same, and an oil supply pipe in said air conduit extending into proximity to said central opening.

5. An oil burning apparatus of the character downwardly from the center toward the rim amuse thereof and conforming substantially to the shape of said base-plate, curved'biades onthe upper surface of said annular body portion, a cover over said blades having a central opening,

an air conduit extending downwardly into proximity to said opening and discharging air into,

the same, an oil supply pipe in said air conduit extending into proximity to said' central opening, and means for draining oil from said base plate adjacent the periphery thereof.

6. In an oil burning apparatus of the character described, -a,firebox, a vaporizing member mounted in said fire box to rotate on a substantially vertical axis, said fire box having a closed bottom, an air supply conduit of less diameter than said vaporizing member extending into said fire box and having a substantially vertically extending portion terminating in a discharge outlet located above and near the center of the up- .per surface of said vaporizing'member, oil feeding means extending downwardly in said air supply conduit and having the discharge end thereof located within said conduit adjacent its lower end to feed oil to said upper surface, and means for rotating said vaporizing member.

1 '1. An oil burning apparatus of the character described, comprising a vaporizing member mounted to rotate on a substantially vertical axis, a pipe feeding oil downwardly centrally onto the upper surface of said vaporizing member, an

air supply conduit extending downwardly toward the centerof the upper surface/ of said vaporizing member and bladed means on said vaporizing member for rotating the same, said bladedmeans projecting from the upper surface of'said vaporizing member and being shaped to mix the oil vaporized by said vaporizing member with said air and direct the combustible mixture so produced to the rim of said vaporizing member upon rotation thereof.

BERTRANDP. THORNTON. 

